[New Era’s] Diamond Era line is the secondary line of caps for MLB players. Think of these like the alternate jerseys teams wear, just the cap version. Players might wear these in spring training games, batting practice or select regular season games.

Uh, no. These caps are not just like alternate jerseys — at least not yet. They’re just BP caps, but New Era and MLB apparently don’t want to call them that, because fans perceives (accurately) that BP caps have a lesser status than regular game caps. So now MLB and New Era are pushing this “Diamond Era” branding, to give these caps a greater aura of legitmacy. Lipstick on a pig and all that.

“But wait,” you’re saying, “the Yahoo story says they might wear these caps in regular season games!” Right — and there’s nothing new about that. Remember last May, when MLB tried to goose BP cap sales by having teams wear BP caps during interleague games? Remember a few months later, when the Yankees, of all teams, wore their BP caps in a game? Any cap in a team’s wardrobe is now game-eligible — that’s not big news. Yeah, we’ll probably see these new caps on the field once or twice, but they’re mostly just for retail sale.

As for the designs, the Pirates entry is clearly the best of the bunch. As for the others, that “a” on the Braves cap looks a bit oversized (but at least it’s not you-know-what), I’ve always loved that Sox logo (although it looks cheesier when rendered in the BP cap fabric), and it’s ridiculous for the Blue Jays to have a cap with no blue. The others fall squarely in the “Who cares?” category.

Interestingly, these caps are not shown in the MLB Style Guide. But the Braves released something else yesterday that is in the Style Guide. Their garish red alternate jersey is now even worse, thanks to a dose of pandering:

Sigh. Never a dull moment. You can see the dates when this jersey will be worn here.

And there’s more. Yesterday the A’s tweeted a photo that at first glance appears to be your standard spring training shot. But as several readers noticed, it’s worth taking a closer look (click to enlarge):

Yes, they are. From the front, the new green jersey (which replaces the old one) has headspoon piping and a simple white “A’s” logo with gold outlining on the left chest, matching the look of the team’s new road cap. This new green alt hasn’t yet been officially unveiled, but I expect that announcement will be coming shortly.

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Duty calls: On the morning of Feb. 21 — that’s two weeks from tomorrow — I will bike to a courthouse in downtown Brooklyn, where I’ve been summoned for grand jury duty. I’ve already postponed it once and can’t get out of it this time. And since this is for a grand jury (not a trial jury, where attorneys for either side can bounce you from the pool for various reasons), it’s almost certain that I’ll be chosen to serve — most likely for either two weeks or a month, although I won’t know for sure until I show up at the courthouse on the 21st.

I believe pretty strongly in jury duty as a civic responsibility, plus it’s a fascinating experience. But jury duty kinda sucks when you’re a self-employed freelancer — and all the more so if you happen to be a daily blogger. Performing my civic responsibility will definitely have an effect here on the site.

But fear not — detailed contingency plansloose discussions vague thoughts are already firmly establishedin development being pondered so that you can continue to get your daily dose of Uni Watch while I’m serving as a cog in our criminal justice machine. At the very least, you can assume that my weekday presence on the site will be much smaller, and possibly non-existent (which I’m sure many of you will count as a plus). We may take some of the content Phil usually runs on weekends — tweaks/concepts, colorizations, etc. — and spread it out during weekdays, and interns Mike Chamernik and Garrett McGrath will help pick up some of the slack as well. Also, Brinke Guthrie’s “Collector’s Corner” may increase from once a week to twice a week. I’ll likely switch to covering weekends, but the content I provide there will probably be fairly light.

We’re still figuring out how to handle the Ticker, but it’s probably a safe bet that the bar for Ticker submissions to appear on the site will get a bit higher, and that the Ticker itself will therefore be a bit smaller. We’ll do our best to cover breaking news, of course, although things may not always happen 100% smoothly. On the plus side, it should be a pretty slow period, uni-wise — the Olympics will be over and MLB and March Madness won’t have started yet.

Thanks in advance for your patience during what it likely to be a trying time for everyone connected to the site.

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Troll update: There’s a new entry on My Pet Troll, involving a Philly sports talk radio host who tried to confront his very persistent troll and ended up being suspended as a result. Check it out here.

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Tick-tock: Today’s Ticker was compiled and written by Mike Chamernik.

Baseball News: The Rangers have changed their stadium’s name to Globe Life Park. Many readers say they are looking forward to a possible “I’m Still Calling It The Ballpark” T-shirt. The renaming might be a little more tolerable if a classic Texas beer had bought the naming rights. That neat mock-up was created by Ryan Campbell. … Al Gruwell worked security at Minute Maid Park for the Houston Winter Invitational. He had his eye on some of the games, though, because he says he likes Arkansas Monticello’s jerseys and Henderson State’s stirrups, and he detests Winona State’s purple get-ups. … Here’s a video on how the Pirates are packing up for Spring Training (from Chris Weber). … Heritage Auctions is selling a really nice button-front1920s Red Sox sweater (from Chris Bisbee). … The Padres let fans decide the team’s social media pregame show logo (from Brady Phelps). … The El Paso Chihuahuas will have new uniforms this season (from Phil). … Yesterday’s Ticker linked to an artist who placed cartoon characters in corporate logos, but RJ Kramer notes that there was a sports example. … Joe Neumann bought this Turn Ahead the Clock Rockies jersey on eBay last night. “Now I need to find someone that has the lettering and number font for it,” he says. “Been looking for over 8 years for this jersey.” … “I spotted these classic Tucson Toros uniforms in a 1985 re-run of Michael Landon’s Highway to Heaven last night,” says Brian Noel. “The actors wore blank navy blue trucker caps, which was irritating, but the jerseys, pants and stirrups were actual Toros uniforms. A little IMBD research explains how the episode included the Toros name, logo and field. Growing up my brother and I had a soft spot for the show because Michael Landon’s sidekick, played by Victor French (also of ‘Little House’ fame), always wore an Oakland A’s cap.”

NFL News: Put as much faith as you want in this, but someone on Reddit says that the Broncos will get a complete redesign for the 2015 season and that Nike plans to make them “the Oregon of the NFL” (from Jason Greening). … Joe Namath found his fur coat he wore for the Super Bowl coin flip by doing a simple Google search (from Tommy Turner). … Seattle police wore Seahawks logo caps during yesterday’s victory parade (from Markus Kamp). … Highlights of the Super Bowl were reenacted with Legos (from Jon Solomonson). … “I was on the Skinit website looking for a new case for my phone,” says Joe Bailey. “I was checking out the Cleveland Browns section and one case is a Brandon Weeden jersey. When I moused over the image this message popped up: ‘Be the first to own this design!’ It’s so sad being a Browns fan.” Well, Weeden is better than the only other Browns player available.

NBA News: The Pelicans will change their arena’s name to Smoothie King Arena. “It will always be the New Orleans Arena to me,” says Ryan Bohannon.

College Hoops News: FIU has new Sunday home jerseys. … South Dakota State will wear camo jerseys tonight. … Minnesota’s Andre Hollins wears a nickNOB, or a shortened version of a FNOB (from Josh Winrotte).

Olympics News: Fashion designers have created some notable Olympic uniforms over the years (from Phil). … Samsung, the company giving athletes a free Galaxy Note 3, is demanding that Olympians cover up Apple logos on their iPhones during the Opening Ceremony.

Grab Bag: More ketchup container-related news from Brinke: MIT scientists have developed bottles with super slippery interiors. … NBC News redesigned its website (also from Brinke). … Cincinnati has new lacrosse jerseys. … The Blackhawks’ Antti Raanta has some sharp looking pads for the team’s Stadium Series game on March 1. … Speedo will make customized swimsuits for USC, California, Florida and Michigan (from Ansel Hillmer). … “I live in Quito, Ecuador and noticed a bit of an obscure uni-related item on a bus yesterday,” says CJ Hague. “This sign features the old ASU devil logo and states ‘Por favor timbre solo una vez … no sea kchudo,’ which basically translates to, ‘Please ring bell (to request stop) just once…don’t be rude.’ ‘Kchudo’ is a shortened spelling of ‘cachudo,’ which literally means horned, explaining the ASU devil, but is used locally to describe someone who is rude or deceitful.”

127 comments to How Many Days Until Pitchers and Catchers?

I actually still own an original pair of A’s Zubaz shorts, and I will unashamedly say that they are the most comfortable pair of shorts I’ve ever owned.

John|
February 6, 2014 at 7:59 am |

At first glance on that A’s picture, I noticed the Zubaz pants instead of the Crisp jersey.

John Collings|
February 6, 2014 at 8:12 am |

If talk of Nike making the Broncos the “Oregon of the NFL” is true, I’ll be curious to see how they bypass the bogus “only one helmet” rule the NFL put in place. Nike seems to design their garbage with the notion of several helmets being used. So, if these rumors are true, this will either 1) prove that the “one helmet rule” was bullshit from the start or 2) show that Nike is (in part) calling the shots with the NFL. If the rumors are false, well…..thank Jesus.

With the NFL’s uniform restrictions, there’s really no such thing as an Oregon of the NFL. One helmet, 3 jerseys, 1 of which can only be worn twice. Unlimited pants, but anything that doesn’t fit with the jersey colors would look stupid, so… yeah. Maybe the jersey will be a different material with seams in different places or something, but they aren’t going to be wearing a new combination every week. They can’t even mimic Oregon with the extra colors, because I’m pretty sure that adding silver & black to the Broncos color scheme would cause riots and death threats.

Steve B.|
February 6, 2014 at 9:16 am |

The NFL doesn’t even allow for unlimited pants anymore. Starting in 2012, they restricted teams to 3 sets. That may explain the absence of the Rams gold pants and the Skins red pants.

I had this very conversation on twitter with a friend this morning. It’s going to be hard to become the “Oregon of the NFL” under the current NFL rules. That being said, I’m still curious to see what they come up with .

DenverGregg|
February 6, 2014 at 11:43 am |

They could easily keep the base jersey and helmet color and major design elements (probably side panels and random swoops of contrast color), but make changes to the numbers (colors, patterns), add patches, wacky socks and gloves, facemask (color and pattern again).

Helmet decal might even get tweaks. I hate to mention, but for instance a pink mane on the horse in October, or a Santa hat in December, or “Ready to Ride” for the playoffs – well, that last one might already be retired.

I don’t think even Nike could get today’s players to wear proper sleeves though.

I doubt the Broncos are ditching orange, seeing that they went out of their way to redesignate their blue jersey as their alternate and promote their orange alternate as their primary jersey.

At the very lest, the Broncos should drop their blue alts (jersey AND pants) and wear a throwback design as their alt. I would prefer this as their throwback alt, but due to the NFL helmet rule, it probably wouldn’t work out, so maybe the traditional 1968-1996 home uniform as an alt. Sure, the blue would be a little darker than the original, but at least it would somewhat match.

J.R. Clark|
February 6, 2014 at 8:20 am |

Whenever called for jury duty, I always state: “If selected for a jury, I am predisposed to find every defendant not guilty because I have no confidence in the criminal justice system.” I have never served on a jury.

arrScott|
February 6, 2014 at 8:34 am |

As long as you also have the decency and integrity not to vote, dodging jury duty is fine by me.

Jason M (DC)|
February 6, 2014 at 8:41 am |

I want to be selected for jury duty someday. I’ve only ever received a letter once, and then I didn’t have to report. I think it’d be interesting. But maybe I’m crazy.

I was called for grand jury duty a couple years ago, but after all the names were drawn I wasn’t assigned and got sent home with a thanks after just a couple hours. I was disappointed, had been looking forward to it. I also think it’s a duty, especially for those of us who view the criminial justice system with a suspicious eye from time to time.

That was New York County, not Kings, but perhaps it’ll happen to you as well, Paul. They brought in a very large group, far more than they needed to actually seat the grand juries.

Judy A|
February 6, 2014 at 3:46 pm |

I don’t know anybody who actually enjoys jury duty, but I’ve always figured that if I were on trial, I’d want somebody like me sitting in that box – especially if I were innocent.

Bud|
February 6, 2014 at 8:23 am |

The Cubs hat isn’t an alternate/2nd BP cap, it’s just an update of their previous one with the new blue they’re using. Still have only one BP cap.

My guess is that the Mets and Rangers replaced their previous ones with the above ones as well, still keeping their total to one apiece.

Jury Duty Night: a quite possibly brilliant promotion for a baseball team, especially minor league. I’m practically giddy thinking of all the stuff a team like the St Paul Saints could do with it.

Good on you, Paul, and here’s hoping you get some white-collar cases in addition to run-of-the-mill individual crime. The technical minutiae of white-collar cases can be fascinating, and the evidence is usually less grisly than violent felonies.

Mark in Shiga|
February 6, 2014 at 8:30 am |

What I noticed about the A’s photo was that there was a jersey in the back with no number on the front. I thought that maybe they were taking the numbers off the fronts this year.

Komet17|
February 6, 2014 at 8:32 am |

Re: New El Paso Chihuahuas uniforms — yes, they’re “new” in that they’ve never had them before, but they’re not “new” as in replacing “old” jerseys, since this is the first year for the team as the new AAA affiliate of the Padres, replacing the Tucson Padres.

Mark Gutierrez|
February 6, 2014 at 9:53 am |

The picture shown in the tweet didn’t really show off the jerseys too well. This one is slightly better: http://www.milb.com/...

The Chihuahuas are replacing the El Paso Diablos as the professional baseball team in the city. The new logos and uniforms replace the roided-up pepper logo the Diablos had been using.

Mark Gutierrez|
February 6, 2014 at 4:20 pm |

The Chihuahuas are replacing the Diablos in terms of being the only professional baseball team in the city but indeed are the relocation of the Tucson Padres of AAA. The original Diablos have not been a part of MiLB since their AA franchise relocated to Springfield in 2005 after being purchased by the St. Louis Cards from the D-Backs. The recent El Paso Diablos were an unaffiliated independent minor league team from 2005-2013.

CortM|
February 6, 2014 at 1:44 pm |

Chihuahua is the Mexican state across the border from El Paso. The connections between El Paso and Chihuahua, particularly Ciudad Juarez, are very deep. Many, many people in El Paso have family connections to the other side of the border. Putting “Chihuahua” on the jerseys is great.

And it’s minor league baseball – it’s supposed to be fun, a pleasant summertime diversion. The mascot is fun, but not in a forced “IronPigs/RiverSharks/Muck Dogs” kind of way.

Finally, even though there are too many variations, the uniforms all look pretty good.

I’m a fan.

Jason M (DC)|
February 6, 2014 at 8:45 am |

I’m trying to remember if I might have ever seen that Sparky sticker in a bus when I lived in Ecuador. However, that was almost 20 years ago. (Has it been that long already??) I was down there for 2 years.

C J H|
February 6, 2014 at 8:57 am |

Cyber high five to living in Ecuador – I’ve been here for nearly two years myself! There are actually a lot of interesting sports logos on buses, often common logos that have been repurposed with different colors.

Jason M (DC)|
February 6, 2014 at 8:46 am |

I usually dislike the Braves’ red jerseys. But I actually kind of like the star-spangled red.

arrScott|
February 6, 2014 at 8:48 am |

Seeing it again this morning, I flat-out like the Braves “military appreciation” jersey. Heck, it even suggests a post-Native American team identity. Drop the tomahawk, make the star-spangled lettering standard, and make the “Braves” name refer to the national anthem instead of American Indians. Plus, the Braves uni reminds me of the 1917 White Sox World Series jersey. The new Braves shirt is the best patriotic/military tribute uniform in MLB since the ’17 Sox.

In the comments yesterday, Paul objected to “military appreciation” jerseys on principle. I argued that they’re no different from other tribute jerseys, such as for Latino heritage night or Jackie Robinson Day or whatever. But Paul does have a valid and oft-stated complaint that the military appreciation events overwhelm the other events in their frequency and prominence. The Nationals, for example, would do well to switch one of their many military appreciation events for a Civil Service night. Discounts for federal workers, throwback uniforms to the Taft administration (on account of Taft’s civil service reforms), Bill wins the presidents’ race, that sort of thing. With 81 home games, baseball is uniquely suited to appreciation events with special uniforms. By all means, appreciate the troops and veterans, but spread the appreciation around to others, too.

Tom V.|
February 6, 2014 at 8:54 am |

“…and make the “Braves” name refer to the national anthem instead of American Indians…”

Wouldn’t it technically have to be The Atlanta Brave then?

arrScott|
February 6, 2014 at 10:14 am |

Nah, sports teams have plural names. This is a convention in English that dates back centuries with collective nicknames, modern crap like “Wild” and “Heat” notwithstanding. Maple Leafs, Bisons, Braves, same diff.

Mike V.|
February 6, 2014 at 9:01 am |

I agree. They have a nice “pop” to them. Personally, I may have to file this uni under guilty pleasure.

Phil P|
February 6, 2014 at 9:10 am |

Nah, fed employees are lazy and get to live off tax dollars and are overpaid and do nothing for this country. They don’t need to be appreciated, it’s the military that makes the country run

terriblehuman|
February 6, 2014 at 9:46 am |

I see what you did there.

Phil P|
February 6, 2014 at 12:01 pm |

Ha, yeah. There’s never a thank a public sector employee day. Instead, many would like to see those public sector jobs axed

terriblehuman|
February 6, 2014 at 12:24 pm |

And while they’re at it, get those government hands off my Medicare and Social Security!

Chris Holder|
February 6, 2014 at 11:08 am |

I really don’t like either of the Braves’ alternates, red or navy. I feel like the home whites and road grays are two of, if not THE best, unis in the game. But I’m biased, being a kid in the South in the 90s. The cream alternates are meh. However, I’d be fine with red/navy softball tops for the entire season of it meant wearing those gorgeous stirrups. We all know that isn’t going to happen, though. At least I agree with the prevailing thought here – as far as patriotic jerseys go, the Braves’ did it pretty well. No camo is the best camo. Though you have to wonder, with the South’s love of huntin’, why they didn’t pander to that crowd. Oh what am I saying, they’ll probably do it next year.

David Murphy|
February 6, 2014 at 12:24 pm |

Agree. Love the striped stirrups. Last year I wrote the Braves. Got a reply saying they had no plans to use them.

The good thing about this new jersey with stars is that they’ll only wear them 5 times, on games they’d probably be wearing funky jerseys anyway. That’s less than the twelve or so times they’s wear Fhe friday red jerseys, so it’s an improvement. When I first saw the pic of Freeman donning the new jersey it resembled the red Nationals jersey with the starred W.

Not a fan of navy either, but it does look better without the piping. Wish the road grey jersey read “Braves” instead of Atlanta. Great that LA will sometimes wear grey “Dodgers” jerseys.

Hank-SJ|
February 6, 2014 at 8:55 am |

Been on regular jury trials a couple of times in NJ and would rather be on a Grand Jury. Grand Jury meets at least once or twice a week so you’re really not missing that much work time, you can ask questions of the prosecuting attorney and of witnesses about evidence, you can take notes and you may be involved in more than one case at a time.

arrScott|
February 6, 2014 at 10:17 am |

What? Can you not take notes in regular trials in New Jersey? Last time I served on a criminal jury, in Minnesota, we were encouraged to take notes (but only with paper and pencils supplied by the bailiff, and we had to leave our notes in the courtroom). Been a while, though, so maybe things have changed, or it varies state by state.

CortM|
February 6, 2014 at 1:46 pm |

It was the same way when I did jury duty in Texas. We could take notes, with bailiff-supplied pens and paper, which was collected and stored someplace at the end of each day.

Phil Hecken|
February 6, 2014 at 4:41 pm |

Ditto for New York (Nassau County). My only actual jury service (got booted once, and went but wasn’t called and summarily dismissed the other time) encompassed one civil trial that took two full weeks. Pad & pens, all collected at the end of the day. But…we got to keep them (I went through 4 legal pads worth) when it was over. I still have them somewhere.

Mike V.|
February 6, 2014 at 8:58 am |

I can see the Pirates wearing that new alt BP cap with their Sunday home alts…the 1971 throwbacks. I don’t think it would be a bad look.

The Bucs hat is beautiful, I wish they would’ve used that logo as their new primary logo. Although, I will take the “P” being promoted to primary status if it means a gradual phaseout of the current pirate, a phaseout being done for unrelated reasons as to the Cleveland Indians phasing out Chief Wahoo.

And even though that logo is contemporary with the Pirates 1971 throwbacks, I like the actual gold hats they wore from that era as well. IDK, if I end up going through with my plans on buying a partial season ticket plan this year, I’ll get to see plenty of combinations this year.

Yes, I actually didn’t know that logo dated back to ’68 because they really didn’t use it on on-field gear much. Maybe some dugout jackets here and there and the BP jersey had it in the early 80s. I equate it more with the 77-84 unis because of that I guess. It was the logo of my youth so it holds a special place in my uni-heart!

boo|
February 6, 2014 at 5:14 pm |

i bet they do use it on sundays, but not in game. their sunday bp hat

Johnny O|
February 6, 2014 at 9:21 am |

Unfortunately count me in on the “If they are going to do it, and if they are going to desecrate our great country, go ahead and do it with those ‘star spangled’ unis and not the digi camo.”

They should just ditch it altogether, but that is an argument for another day.

They should just ditch it altogether, but that is an argument for another day.

No — that is THE argument, for EVERY day. This onslaught of political messaging (and make no mistake, that’s precisely what it is) must be called for what it is, opposed, resisted, stopped.

arrScott|
February 6, 2014 at 10:26 am |

Nonsense. For one thing, you’re making the perfect the enemy of the good, and that is a reactionary, fundamentally nihilist ethic. Judging things against actual, existing alternatives is not only valid, it is more valid than judging them against theoretical ideals. Both practical reality and ideals are valid, crucial standards, but the ideal without regard for the real not only fails every time, but it empowers the cynical manipulation of the real alternatives on offer.

Second, all public messaging is political. If “political messaging” is to be opposed and resisted, then Jackie Robinson Day unis must be equally called out alongside military appreciation and patriotic jerseys, alongside Cerveceros and Piwowarzy jerseys.

arrScott|
February 6, 2014 at 10:34 am |

Which arguments I make with the friendliest intentions and respect. I hate how discussion of principles feels so hostile when stated purely in text!

Strongly disagree. It is impossible to look at this Braves jersey in a vacuum or in strictly aesthetic terms. It is part of a years-long effort of relentless political messaging by sports teams and leagues, an effort that has celebrated the military to the near-exclusion of all other sectors of society. Saying that’s “another argument for another day,” as Johnny O did, is to accept the legitimacy and appropriateness of that messaging campaign, and I for one refuse to do that.

When teams and leagues start wearing special uniforms for teachers, Peace Corps workers, civil servants, social workers, et al., we can talk. Until then, this is cheap pandering to cheap jingoism, and deserves to be called out as such.

I think Paul’s right on this one. Every time we fail to push back strongly, we lose another inch of ground.

Speaking only for myself, there is political messaging and there is political messaging. I think the incremental militarization of American culture is a very dangerous development for our society, while the Brewers’ various ethnic jerseys only ruin the team’s aesthtic.

scottrj|
February 6, 2014 at 1:54 pm |

“The incremental militarization of American culture”? Really? If anything the opposite is more likely true.

To me at least, characterizing the proliferation of military appreciation observances in the sporting world as “relentless political messaging” that “we must resist” suggests that they are a tool being employed in the service of some wider, deeper, and more sinister political agenda. I.e., something more than a transparent attempt by sports leagues, team owners, colleges, etc., to pander to peoples’ baser impulses for purely craven (namely, monetary) reasons. I for one don’t see it, and am curious to know what I may be missing.

Not the militarization of the American people, but the American culture.

If it wasn’t happening, we wouldn’t be seeing the leagues falling all over themselves in an attempt to cash in on these sorts of tributes.

scottrj|
February 6, 2014 at 3:51 pm |

That seems a distinction without a difference to me. A society’s “culture” (as I understand it at least) is a reflection of the norms, beliefs, customs, etc. of its people. At this moment, except perhaps in the immediate post-Vietnam era the military is both smaller and a more segregated component of US society than it’s been in my not-insubstantial lifetime (which dates to Ike’s presidency). How given that backdrop its beliefs, customs, etc., are simultaneously exercising an ever-increasing sway over society as a whole is confounding to me.

I suppose people see what they want/expect to see, but I see little explanation for the trend beyond cynical exploitation for crass financial gain. Which itself is plenty-sufficient grounds for objection.

Johnny O|
February 6, 2014 at 1:13 pm |

I push back. I push back a lot. It falls on deaf ears to all my friends/family. I have not found one person I know (outside the Uni-verse) that agrees with me. It’s getting harder and harder to fight the good fight when not only nothing changes on the field, but you are called un-American when doing it.

…or at least as much of an ‘Oregon of the NFL’ as there can be in a league that allows teams to only wear one helmet shell and a third jersey only on limited occasions. But they can go wild with the pants, I guess.

Although it would seem, at least, that the helmet restriction will remain in place. This time for safety concerns, not branding.

Steve B.|
February 6, 2014 at 10:40 am |

I know the NFL believes in one helmet per team to strengthen each team’s branding identity, but there is nothing that I have seen since Goddell has come in to stop them from making more money. With that being said, if the NFL believes this would be more beneficial financially than the branding advantages of a single helmet, they’ll be all for changing the restrictions. Of course, with the safety concerns of multiple helmets, we’d probably see interchangable decals first.

I know the NFL believes in one helmet per team to strengthen each team’s branding identity, but there is nothing that I have seen since Goddell has come in to stop them from making more money.

How many businesses pass up the opportunity to make more money? Obviously the branding srategy is about making money, but it’s a longer view.

The NFL under Goddell could be maximizing short-term profits by letting teams wear a different jersey every week. So far they’ve resisted that sort of strip-mining.

Steve B.|
February 6, 2014 at 11:50 am |

“The NFL under Goddell could be maximizing short-term profits by letting teams wear a different jersey every week. So far they’ve resisted that sort of strip-mining.”

I’m really surprised that this hasn’t happened yet under Goddell.

terriblehuman|
February 6, 2014 at 12:07 pm |

I’m not surprised. Look at what happens on fall Sundays in most NFL cities (and some non-NFL cities, in some cases). You have people going to the store and dining out, wearing team colors. That kind of branding is something most companies would spend billions to achieve, yet NFL teams have consumers pay their own money to become walking billboards.

I think a college football-style jersey-a-week scheme would seriously undermine that paint-the-town-whatever-team-color thing NFL has achieved.

That’s an especially interesting observation when you consider how rare it has been in the last several decades for an NFL team to change its colors. They might tweak their shades (Jets, Eagles, Chargers, Dolphins) or add a merchandisable color (Dolphins again) but to a large degree they stick with what they’ve got.

I can’t think of an NFL version of the Rays/Padres/Astros/Canucks/Sabres where teams fluctuate wildly from one color scheme to the next without any common thread at all. Maybe the Bucs in ’97, but at least they kept orange.

BurghFan|
February 6, 2014 at 3:03 pm |

the color of the helmet shouldn’t matter.

if the team has the same decal i don’t see what the problem is.

We’ve actually seen teams remove decals for throwbacks. The league claims the rule is about safety; if teams want to re-decal or even repaint, they apparently can. It’s just a question of how much trouble it is to do these things and then restore them to the original look.

I’m not saying they’re not sacrificing a revenue stream. But they’re also not forfeiting profit. Like I said, it’s a long game.

CortM|
February 6, 2014 at 2:04 pm |

CVS is claiming a potential revenue loss of $2 billion for dropping tobacco products, but terriblehuman is exactly right: they’re playing the long game. And the media reports on this, from NPR to “Good Morning, America!” have played like CVS infomercials. They have effectively rebranded themselves as “The Healthy Pharmacy.” I went to CVS yesterday: it’s basically several rows of poorly made plush toys and a couple of billion calorie’s worth of Russell Stover candies and Blue Bell ice cream, with drugs in back. Same as it’s always been. Only now, they’re the Healthy Pharmacy.

It’s like trading Herschel Walker for a bunch of draft picks: it hurts the team this season, but three years from now, you’re in the Super Bowl: A solid business decision, that’s all.

Maybe I’m just a greedy capitalist! No big box pharmacy is REALLY just a pharmacy. If I’m running a company, no way I’m making that decision.

arrScott|
February 6, 2014 at 2:42 pm |

Maybe I’m just a greedy capitalist!

No, you’re a bad capitalist. (But don’t take it hard: There’s a reason I’m not running a Fortune-500 company either!) If you ran the company and had to answer to shareholders, you wouldn’t think twice about giving up any revenue stream if you believed that, by doing so, you could increase the overall value of the company to shareholders. Companies give up major revenue streams all the time when seeking to reposition themselves in the marketplace, because capitalism isn’t about maximizing revenue. It’s about growing capital.

To a true “greedy capitalist,” a company that loses money while growing its market share is a success; a company that earns a consistent profit without growing is a failure.

terriblehuman|
February 6, 2014 at 4:43 pm |

I mean, look at Apple. Every year, it gives up billions in potential revenue by ignoring the low-end market, much to the angst of analysts and armchair CEOs (remember when people were saying Apple *must* make sub-$500 netbooks to avoid falling behind the competition?). But because it chooses to ignore obviously rich revenue streams, it’s also the most profitable company in the history of the universe, or something like that.

jedi54|
February 6, 2014 at 10:03 pm |

It could be one of 2 things. Being a good corporate citizen or they are not making a decent profit off the sales. I bet it’s the latter. I still think it was more of a “business” decision than being a good corporate citizen. Yeah it may a 2 billion dollar decision, but if it costs them more than the 2 billion to purchase, stock, ship and market the tobacco sales, then it was a business decision that the marketing group put out as a way to gain market share.

Judy A|
February 6, 2014 at 3:52 pm |

I’m super disappointed not to see Bucco Bruce or Pat Patriot helmets this year, but if that’s the price we pay for NFL uniform restrictions that keep teams from becoming “the Oregon” (or “the Maryland”) of the NFL – I’ll gladly pay it.

J-Dub|
February 6, 2014 at 1:40 pm |

Wasn’t the phrase “Oregon on steroids” bandied about when the current Jags uniforms were still in the design stage? http://www.sportsmed...

Here’s Ken Griffey Jr talking about how his iconic Upper Deck rookie card photo is not a Mariners Jersey, but a San Bernadino jersey and a photoshopped hat.

El Duderino|
February 6, 2014 at 11:40 am |

“Oregon of the NFL”
It is not that inconceivable. They can do what they did with Vikings with a bit of Seattle glitz.

Helmet
(Option 1) Midnight Blue helmet with the current Bronco head bigger that has a chrome effect like the Oregon Duck feathers
or
(Option 2) Midnight Blue helmet with Alloy Orange Bronco Mane on top and White w/Orange Borders TV numbers (like the original Broncos’ helmet)that match the jersey numbers with a sublimated Rocky Mountains design within them (like the Seahawks)

Regarding Real Salt Lake’s new design from yesterday (apologies for tardiness): Disappointed they went and messed with the design that was leaked about a month ago (here: http://cdn0.sbnation...). A classic case of not knowing when to leave something be without having to have some stupid quirk.

terriblehuman|
February 6, 2014 at 12:10 pm |

Same here – the solid horizontal bar was sharp. But Adidas is going for stupid this year, judging by the World Cup jerseys, so.

And Smoothie King Arena is the single worst corporate branding name I have ever heard.

terriblehuman|
February 6, 2014 at 12:10 pm |

Worse than Sleep Train Arena?

mild bill|
February 6, 2014 at 12:13 pm |

Be patient…with so many sports venues a worse name is surely lurking in the near future.

Padday|
February 6, 2014 at 12:14 pm |

Personally I’d take something like “Smoothie King Arena” over all those synergised, hyper-incentivised, global-visionised corporate names that tend to come from the financial and telecommunications sectors like Citi Field, Safeco Field, Globe Life Park, Qualcomm Stadium etc. In short, I’ll take stupid smoothie over sinister newspeak any day.

Of course they’re all terrible and equally deserve to be flogged for sullying hallowed sporting grounds.

terriblehuman|
February 6, 2014 at 12:21 pm |

And it’s certainly better than when Florida Atlantic tried to name its football stadium after a private prison company with human rights issues and such.

The only problem with Smoothie King Arena is that the Kings aren’t playing there.

DenverGregg|
February 6, 2014 at 1:14 pm |

Worst corporate name has to be a concert venue in Southern Colorado: Comfort Dental Amphitheater. It really sounds like a theater for watching dentistry.

Tom V.|
February 6, 2014 at 1:52 pm |

The Tampa Amphitheatre which is now the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre went through a tough time a few years ago, when it was named The 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre.

DenverGregg|
February 6, 2014 at 11:59 am |

I’m unlikely to be selected for a jury because of past job experience and because a friend is now a judge. Grand jury would be interesting though.

Phil P|
February 6, 2014 at 12:14 pm |

So I was thinking of how easy it is to use camo/stars and stripes to do “military appreciation.” But it would be fun to see/hear ideas for uni-related tributes, such as teachers, civil servants, etc. Teachers is probably the easier one, have like an apple. But what about bureaucrats who just sit at desks, how can we reduce what they do into a uni design? We should have a contest!

terriblehuman|
February 6, 2014 at 12:22 pm |

Red tape, obviously.

Phil P|
February 6, 2014 at 2:10 pm |

ah yes, brilliant!

ChrisCampo17|
February 6, 2014 at 12:39 pm |

That Cubs BP cap looks like the same one they’ve got now? How is it new?

Bud|
February 6, 2014 at 12:48 pm |

I said the same thing, that the only difference was that it’s the new shade of blue they’re using this year and that they probably still only have one BP hat…Paul said I was wrong, but didn’t specify how or if it was just the other part of my post that was wrong.

I also don’t really get how this was reported by him as if the development of an “alternate bp” hat was a completely new concept all of a sudden. More than a handful of teams introduced multiple BP hats last year, there just seem to be a few more joining the party this season.

ChrisCampo17|
February 6, 2014 at 1:05 pm |

My first thought was maybe somebody just submitted the wrong picture.

I guess the new blue is as good a reason as any. The blue isn’t that different. The Cubs could have just not said anything….very few would have noticed.

Re: El Duderino. That description sounds pretty interesting. I would love to see some mock-ups.

Joe Neumann|
February 6, 2014 at 1:05 pm |

Also, thanks for the shout out, Mike and Paul. I’ll have to send some pics when my TATC jersey arrives. I already have a good lead on getting lettering for it, thanks to Paul. Is it baseball season yet? :)

Steve|
February 6, 2014 at 3:03 pm |

$400 for the TATC jersey? Dang, gotta talk my wife into selling hers. She has the game worn jersey from Seattle’s starting pitcher (Ken Cloude) from the “original” TATC. The thing is hideous, but he was her favorite player back then, and her grandma bought it for her at some auction soon after that season.

Matt|
February 6, 2014 at 3:19 pm |

In other Braves news, I visited Los Angeles last week and found the scrapped 2013 BP cap sitting right next to the one the Braves ended up using. Bought a few for myself & friends.

Brandon|
February 6, 2014 at 3:30 pm |

Man 400 for a rockies jersey ripoff. I got the angels one for 11 bucks.

Pitchers and catchers reported today. For the Diamondbacks. Which seals Arizona as the team I’ll pull for in the NL West this year. (The new Buccos BP cap makes them my team in the Central this year.) Just knowing guys are doing baseball things somewhere makes the earth a more comfortable inn to lodge in. Thank you, Diamondbacks! Thank you, Australia, for causing Arizona to report a week early!

Hugh Gitlin|
February 6, 2014 at 4:37 pm |

Andre Hollins has had NNOB since his freshman year. There are 2 A. Hollins on the Gophers. The question is will he keep the NNOB next year when Austin graduates.

The Police Foundation gave one to every officer — I think that is really cool, and they look great. Every officer on the department had their day off/vacation canceled for that day and had to come in and work.